If you are a Christian who is deeply rooted in your faith, when something negative happens to you, one of the first thing that you do is turn to your spiritual adviser for guidance and counseling. The guidance offered by your spiritual advisor will help you get through the difficult time of physiological, physical and spiritual damage. Priests and parishioners are both damaged in the Catholic sexual abuse scandals. Often the media will focus on what happens to the priests at the end of their trials. However, an equally important consideration is what happens to the abused parishioners. Where do they go to seek help and how do they heal? The media is instrumental in influencing how we react to different situations. During the proliferation of sexual abuse cases, the media primarily highlighted the aftermath of the abuser. The media rarely seemed to revisit how the abused could be helped to overcome all aspects of their trauma, after going through such an ordeal. The question is raised, will a person who is strong in his or her faith lose faith after having been molested my a church leader? It is hard for people to hold on to their faith when their very own advisor has abused and deceived them. The healing process can be strenuous and lengthy for them. Nevertheless if they hold on to God’s promises of healing and restoration then their faith will be resorted and they will be healed. As it says in the book of Psalms “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalms 30:5). The safest solution for the victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is to defrock any priest who has been found guilty of child sexual misconduct t... ... middle of paper ... ...mble men of God that they acknowledge themselves to be. When Catholic leaders fail to handle things in a Godly and just manner there is no excuse for them to not expect public humiliation. Works Cited Work Cited Brown, Michelle. Defrocking Accused Priest in the Catholic Church: Pastoral Psychology. New York: Jan 2007 Henry, Terence. Ways of Making Convicted Priest Productive Again: Pastoral Psychology: New York January 2009 Petillo, John. Intensive Psychotherapeutic Treatment can be Effective: Pastoral Psychology: New York May 2003 Rossetti, Stephen. The Aftermath of the Sexual Abuse Cases within the Catholic Church: Pastoral Psychology. New York: March 2008. Watson, John. The Rage of Parents Defending Their Children: Child Psychology. New York September 2005
Obviously, working with survivors of child sexual abuse, neglect, and trauma: The approach taken by the social worker in the Brandon’s case shall begin with “assessment and beginning treatment of the family because child abuse is one of a wide range practice situation in which systems concepts can be applied to help to understand the dynamics involved” in the road for healing and recovery from the physical and psychological effect of the trauma by providing adequate resources available for counseling and therapy due to the devastating impacts of child sexual abuse can be heartbreaking for the victim and the family. However, social worker approach to understanding and responds efficiently by being empathetic to the complex situation as a result; the perpetrator is the father such as in the case of Brandon (Plummer, Makris, & Brocksen, 2014).
Wilson, Barbara S., Arlene Flancher, and Susan T. Erdey. The Episcopal Handbook. New York, NY: Morehouse Pub., 2008. Print.
The effects of childhood sexual abuse carry on with the children forever. To what extent and to what effect does abuse have on children during adulthood? What are the main issues that adults have been abused suffer from in adulthood? Do they have more of a physical issue with preforming with their partner in the bedroom or do they have more of a mental block due to their trauma? The world had been asking these questions for far too long and we need answers on how helping the children of our world. The questions that have been stated have been answered through the two articles that will be summarized below.
Note that this paper deals exclusively with homosexual and heterosexual men. This is because the research regarding sexual molestation perpetrated by women is not as fully developed, and women tend to make up an almost immeasurably small percentage of molesters at large.
Children and adults that are familiar with God and that have been taught that God is love, often associated their traumatic experiences in a negative way to their spirituality. Children and adults may relate their trauma experienced to a retribution by a punitive God and it can disrupt their spiritual belief and connection with God or a divine being (Bryant-Davis, et al., 2012). Individuals’ that have experienced trauma at times develop a negative and unsafe view of the world. The world is no longer a safe place for them. This negative connotation of the world could lead to many adverse effects throughout the development stages of a person. It could lead to mental health as well as a complete rejection of one’s faith, and mistrust that can lead to the inhibition of formatting healthy relationships with others or with God. Although, children and adults could develop a negative view against their God due to the negative experience, spirituality can also be a source of strength and a mechanism that can lead to recovery. Many times victims of a traumatic event use their spirituality as a form of coping skill that leads to a better understanding and acceptance of their past or present circumstances. This positive view of spirituality can later be restored through means of different styles of
Randall, P. (2008). Psychological profiles of clerical and non-clerical men who have sexually abused children. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Hull.
. “Sexual abuse experiences that are perpetrated by family members or other trusted persons obviously involve more potential for betrayal than those involving strangers” (Browne & Finkelhor, 1985, Pg. 3). The third concept was powerlessness, which can also be disempowerment. The last one is stigmatization, which is the negative connotation such as guilt and shame that the child incorporated into their self-image. Promiscuity and compulsive sexual behaviors are some of the characteristics of CSA victims then they become adolescents or adults. As an adult, the victim may start showing signs of impaired judgment about trustworthiness of other people or become desperate to find a redeeming relationship (Browne & Finkelhor, 1985). This research
In a recent scandal at Penn State University defensive line Coach Jerry Sandusky was accused of having sexual relations with ten young boys while working at Penn State. In trial it came out to be very clear that over the course of many years Mr. Sandusky had been sexually assaulting members from his foster home that was meant to help troubled boys. It is so hard for people to speak out and ask someone for help, because many don’t believe anyone will understand their situation. However, many of the boys knew each other from the group home and had been going through the same terrifying experience. It’s a shame that it can take decades for just one person to get caught instead of days in this case it took fifteen years.
Rossetti, S. J. (1996). A tragic grace: the catholic church and child sexual abuse. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=JAgyfIkgNSoC&dq=A+tragic+grace+:+the+Catholic+Church+and+child+sexual+abuse+/+Stephen+J.+Rossetti.&source=gbs_navlinks_s
In over a period of years, an increasing amount of attention has been shed to the problem of child sexual abuse in the church. While churches, and other facilities which care for children, have had their experience of this problem, most attention has been brought to the abuse in the Catholic Church. Around the world, case after case has been seen in the press of clergy and members of religious orders being charged with sex offenses against children. Some of these cases go back decades. The issue has certainly brought attention around the world. The reason why, is the question that ponders in everyone mind.
Since the genesis of the Catholic Church it has been arguably the most powerful and feared organization in human history, withstanding any that opposed it. After 2,000 years of history it has become one of the most dominant religions on Earth, leading the western world. After the time of Martin Luther, the Catholic Church never thought that it would see another era of opposition until the Boston Globe’s investigative Spotlight Team uncovered one of the churches greatest scandals, bringing it into the light of the world. The uncovering of this scandal will become one the landmarks of modern journalism, after a group of reporters took on one of the strongest organizations known to man without fear of reprisal from this great titan.
Childhood sexual abuse has been and continues to be a major issue in American society. Victims of such trauma can illustrate both short-term and long-term side effects, stemming from the damage endured during childhood. In severe cases, unresolved trauma of sexual abuse can have dire consequences. One of the most infamous and publicized case (cases) that illustrated these dire consequences was the Menendez murders of 1989.
Sexual discrimination, also known as gender discrimination is prejudice based on the sex of a person. Throughout history, discrimination against people of any kind, for countless reasons, have led to many catastrophes. While sexual discrimination may not seem to bring any sort of impending doom, it causes traumatic effects on individual worldwide. It does this by affecting many aspects of a person’s life, such as their emotional and physical well-being. Sexual discrimination also plays an effect on religion. In a world where lives are shaped on ethics and morality, the Catholic religion does it’s best to highlight the religious views and aspects on such matters.
It is most important to understand that children and teens of all racial, religious, ethnic, gender and age groups, at all socio-economic levels are sexually abused. Although there are risk factors that may increase the possibility of sexual abuse, sex abuse can be found in all types of families, communities, and cultures (The Scope of, 2016). Childhood sexual abuse is an important issue to address because the impact of sexual does not end when the abuse ends. Childhood trauma follows into adulthood and can have long-range effects. “Survivors of sexual abuse are at significantly greater risks for severe and chronic mental health issues, including alcoholism, depression, anxiety, PTSD and high risk behaviors” (The Scope Of, 2016). Victims may experience traumatic sexualization, or the shaping of their sexuality in “developmentally inappropriate” and “interpersonally dysfunctional” ways (Effects of Child, 2012). “A child who is the victim of prolonged sexual abuse usually develops low self-esteem, a feeling of worthlessness and an abnormal or distorted view of sex. The child may become withdrawn and mistrustful of adults, and can become suicidal” (Effects of Child, 2012). Overall, the effects and impact of childhood sexual abuse are long lasting and do not diminish when the abuse ends, their childhood trauma follows them into
...Catholic Church authorities had known about the many abuse cases, but sought to deal with the many problems they presented by moving the